Alabama A&M head football coach Connell Maynor’s legendary status as a player in HBCU football is already cemented. He led both Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T to respective conference championships. As a head coach, he is building his legacy, having led Winston-Salem State to back-to-back BOXTOROW HBCU national championships in 2011 and 2012, and having just led the Bulldogs to the HBCU national championship a few weeks ago. Maynor is on a short list of coaches that have led two different programs to national championships, joining coaches Henry Kean, Ace Mumford, Billy Nicks, John Merritt, Willie Jeffries, Billy Joe and Rod Broadway as coaches that have done so.

After his playing days at A&T, he played in the Arena Football League where he won four AFL championships. He also crossed over to Hollywood where he was the stunt double for Jamie Foxx in the film Any Given Sunday. He also was quarterbacks coach and offensive cooedinator on the late Kenny Phillips staff that won CIAA championships in 2003, 2004, and 2009. But like a lot of HBCU players, Maynor never got his opportunity to play in the National Football League.

Maynor talks with Donal Ware about the 2021 season, the opportunity that almost happened in the NFL, and about his career. Click to download or listen to the podcast